Are you wondering why Instagram isn’t showing you likes and views anymore?
Maybe you were just browsing through your Instagram feed today and suddenly noticed that nearly all of the posts are no longer showing any like and view counts?
Well, your initial instinct might be to think that this must be a bug, but believe it or not, this is actually a feature of the Instagram app.
In this guide, you’ll exactly why you’re faced with the issue of Instagram not showing likes and we’ll also show you how to fix it.
Let’s dive right in.
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Solved: Why is Instagram Not Showing Likes in 2023?
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Here’s the answer. Great article by @ChrisHeidorn right here: https://tokenizedhq.com/instagram-not-showing-likes/
Why is Instagram Not Showing Likes Anymore?
If a user has decided to hide all their like and view counts via the privacy settings of their app, then Instagram doesn’t show likes on that person’s account to anyone, not even the user himself. If you’ve activated this feature on your profile, then you won’t be able to see the metrics of anyone.
We get it, you tell yourself that likes and views don’t really matter to you but if you’re truly honest with yourself: They totally do!
The good news is that you’re not alone and the human addiction to metrics and social confirmation is literally a global problem.
Instagram is totally aware of this problem and even though its entire business model relies on people being glued to their screens, it recently introduced a new “digital wellbeing” feature.
This feature is called “Hide Like and View Counts” and it does exactly what it says.
It’s hidden away deep inside Instagram’s privacy settings but anyone can turn it on at any time if they want to.
The primary idea behind Instragam not showing likes anymore is that it will help content creators focus on their friends and content, rather than chasing abstract metrics.
Believe it or not, a lot of people literally get depressed if one of their posts doesn’t get any likes.
Hence why this feature falls into the category of “digital wellness”.
Key Points (tl;dr)
- Recently more and more people have been sending us reports of Instagram likes not showing up in their feed. This has lots of people confused because it seems quite random and they simply don’t know why Instagram doesn’t show likes on certain posts.
- There is a simple explanation for this phenomenon. Instagram has been rolling out new features as part of their push towards more “digital wellbeing” and one of these features allows users to turn on like and view counts on all posts.
- Whenever someone decides to turn on the “Hide Like and View Counts” feature, no one will be able to see any of the metrics on their post and they will also not be able to see the metrics of anyone else.
- If you’ve accidentally activated this feature yourself, you can easily turn it off by following these simple steps:
- Step 1: Open the menu from your profile page and select “Settings”.
- Step 2: Now select “Privacy” and then “Posts”.
- Step 3: At the top of the page you’ll see the “Hide Like and View Counts” feature. Switch it off to enable all your metrics.
How Does the “Hide Like and View Counts” Feature Work?
The “Hide Like and View Counts” feature is essentially a two-way street. If you’ve activated it, then your metrics will not be displayed to anyone. However, you also won’t be able to see anyone else’s metrics. If you turn the feature off, then you’ll probably see metrics of most posts, unless someone has specifically decided to deactivate it in their own profile.
Some people are really picky about their own privacy but love to stalk other people on a regular basis.
If you’re one of those people you might want to turn on this feature for your own posts but continue to spy on other people’s metrics.
Well, I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way.
Hiding likes and view counts on Instagram is a two-way street.
In other words, whenever you activate the feature, no one will be able to see the likes and view counts on any of your posts.
However, you will also not be able to see anyone else’s likes and views.
And even if you turn the feature off, you still won’t necessarily be able to see everyone else’s likes, simply because they may have decided to hide all their stats.
In each case of Instagram not showing likes, you’ll see a different type of text that reads “Liked by Michael and others“.
Want to know how to turn like counts on and off, maybe even for individual posts?
Well, then read on in the next section and check out our step-by-step guide.
How to Turn On Like and View Counts
If you’ve run into a case of Instagram not showing likes and you’d like to fix it, you will need to deactivate the “Hide Like and View Counts” feature.
Here is a simple step-by-step guide on how to make Instagram likes and view counts visible again:
- Step 1: Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
- Step 2: Tap on the menu icon in the top right corner and select “Settings”.
- Step 3: Next, tap “Privacy” and then “Posts”.
- Step 4: Turn OFF the “Hide Like and View Counts” option if it’s currently switched on.
Congratulations, that should put an end to your Instagram not showing likes problem.
The majority of the posts in your feed should now display like and view counts.
If you still occasionally bump into a post that isn’t displaying any stats, then that’s because the owner of the account decided to turn them off on their end.
Unfortunately, that’s not something you can change.
How to Hide Likes on Individual Posts
Some people generally like to be able to see like and view counts but they still want to prevent specific posts from showing these stats.
There are many reasons why one would want to do that, but everyone has their own.
Hiding the like count on a specific post is very easy.
Here are the steps to hide likes on a single Instagram post:
- Step 1: Go to the specific post you want to edit.
- Step 2: Tap the 3-dot menu in the top right corner.
- Step 3: Now select “Hide like count” from the context menu.
And that’s it!
This specific Instagram post won’t display the likes count to you or anyone else until you decided to unhide it again.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Before we close off this guide, let’s quickly address some of the most common questions related to Instagram not showing likes.
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Why can’t I see likes on Instagram?
If certain posts in your feed are not displaying like counts, then it usually means that the owner of the account has decided to hide these stats. However, if literally all posts, including your own, are not showing likes, then you must have accidentally turned on the “Hide Like and View Counts” feature in your privacy settings.
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How do I fix my Instagram likes glitch?
If by “glitch” you mean that you can’t see any like or view counts, then it’s possible that you accidentally activated the “Hide Like and View Counts” feature. You can turn this feature off by accessing your “Settings”, selecting “Privacy” and “Posts”, and finally switching off “Hide Like and View Counts”.
Conclusion
We know it’s difficult to let go of all those addictive metrics but everyone should really consider embracing Instagram not showing likes anymore.
Digital wellness directly translates into mental health and it’s something that is taken for granted in today’s hyperfast world.
Alas, if you’d rather be triggered by stats and metrics, this article will show you how to fix your “problem”.
Here at Tokenized, we want to help you learn as much as possible about social media. We help you navigate the world of tech and the digitalization of our society at large, including the tokenization of assets and services.
